Things That Go Bump
by TwilightSickness
Summary: Strangers in the Night Contest Entry by DaCherry Movie Title: The Exorcist


"_Strangers in the Night" Writing contest hosted by _

_Written by: DaCherry_

_Movie Title Used: The Exorcist_

_Title of Submission: Things That Go Bump_

_Twitter ID: FFCherry_

_Disclaimor: Stephanie Meyer owns all of Twilight and any of its associated characters _

Things That Go Bump

"Edward, it'll be fine. My parents are gone for the weekend**,** and we're not teenagers anymore. Just come over! Alice and Jasper are bringing the booze**,** and Rose and Emmett are bringing food. Can you pick up some scary movies?" Bella asked her boyfriend.

"I guess so," Edward replied, "Any special requests?"

"No one has mentioned anything, but how about a creeper from the 1970's," Bella said. "And your overnight bag. The others are staying too."

"Done. See you in a bit." Edward and Bella hung up their phones.

Bella took a look around to make sure her weekend eerie items were in place. Tarot cards, scarves and candles were on the dining room table. The Ouija board was on the coffee table. Ambiance complete**, **she thought.

As Bella was dimming the living room lights, there was a knock on the door and Alice poked her head in.  
>"It's us B, we're coming in!" Alice and Jasper entered the Swan house laden down with various bottles of liquor and beer. After putting her back pack on the floor, Alice came over to hug Bella.<p>

"It has been far too long. How is it possible that we attend the same campus but never run into each other?" Alice asked.

"Just lucky I guess." Bella laughed as Alice pinched her. "Ali, you know that the English classes I take are on the opposite side of the campus as your Art classes. Besides, didn't we just meet for coffee two weeks ago?" Bella leaned over to hug Jasper, before taking his backpack from him and placing it in the living room with the other overnight accessories she had put out..

"Can I help with anything?" Bella asked as Emmett and Rose came into the foyer. Rose had their overnight bags in her hand and set them down next to the front door.

"Yes Bella," Emmett said, "you can help me carry these pizzas." He smirked at her, before placing the food down on the kitchen table.

Rose came in, hugged Bella and Alice and took a look around. "Is Edward bringing the movies?" She asked.

"We just got off the phone so he should be here soon**,**"Bella answered.

"It has been a long time since we did a Fright Night, huh?" Emmett inquired.

"I don't think we've had one since senior year in High School." Jasper said.

"Well then it's appropriate that we have one our senior year in college, huh?" Rose replied.

Edward arrived then and they huddled around to see his movie collection. Bella held each cover up for a vote.

"Anyone see this one yet?" Bella asked. The all shook their heads, 'no', so Bella made her way to the DVD player and put it in and set the mood with surround sound.

"Emmett, can you grab the pizzas, Rose plates and Alice some drinks, please**,**" Bella asked as she moved the Ouija board out of the way so they could all sit and eat around the table.

"Ouija board, Bella?" Rose laughed. "I feel like we're 13 again."

"This is the same one we took to the cemetery for our imaginary séance when we _were_ thirteen," Bella announced. "I had my mom pull it out of the attic specifically for tonight."

The group of six gathered around the coffee table to eat. Once they had settled into couples, Bella hit the 'play' button on the DVD player and the opening credits of 'The Exorcist' came on.

As the movie progressed the couples were cuddled up with blankets on the furniture and completely engrossed in the film. They were watching Regan do cartwheels down the stairs when they heard a loud 'bump' that sounded as if it was right outside the living room windows.

Alice screamed and Emmett jumped up out of the chair he was sharing with Rosalie. "What the fuck was that?" He yelled. They all looked at each other than towards the back windows.

"No idea," Jasper said.

"Not sure," Bella answered.

"Well, who's going to check that out?" Rose asked. Jasper and Edward exchanged glances and shrugged. "Really? No one wants to, huh? One of you _boys _needs to go and check that _out_," she said louder emphasizing her words to initiate some action. She glanced over to Alice who nodded along to Rose's words.

They all looked around again, until Edward got up from the couch. "I'll check it out. Any ideas on where I should start?" The girls looked at him wide eyed. "Ok, let me grab a flashlight and look around. Emmett**, **Jasper, you guys come too."

Edward grabbed a light out of the junk drawer in the kitchen and headed towards the back door. Bella stopped him before he opened it to give him a good luck kiss.

"Be careful, honey," she whispered. He kissed her forehead, nodded and disappeared into the dark. As soon as the guys were outside, Rose started laughing.

"That was way too easy," she said. "Is it my turn to make the next scary noise?"

"What are you talking about Rose?" Alice looked at Rose in confusion.

"Wait, wasn't that one of you two?" Rose inquired but both Bella and Alice shook their heads. Rose's eyes widened in disbelief. "Then what made the noise?" She asked quietly.

The girls got up off their seats and went to look for the guys. Bella grabbed a baseball bat out of the closet and handed that to Rose; she then grabbed her pepper spray and handed that to Alice. They created a very tight conga line and went to look for the boys.

As soon as they tiptoed to the back door, there was another 'bump' but louder. Alice screamed and ran out into the dark. Rose followed close behind and Bella grabbed her phone to call 911. Just as she was ready to hit 'send' there was an odd scuffling noise from the living room.

"Rose, did you hear that?" Bella asked, but Rose was too far away to hear her. "It came from the living room." She said and headed that way.

'Ok guys joke's over," Bella whispered as she quietly walked towards the living room. There wasn't anyone in the room, but the throw pillows from the couches were now on the floor. That's odd, she thought to herself. Bella turned around and headed out the back door to find everyone else.

Emmett had Rose in a big hug over by the back tree trying to calm her down. Alice was sitting on the porch swing with Jasper. Edward was sitting on the porch steps talking on his phone. He looked up when he saw Bella and motioned her over.

"No officer, there doesn't seem to be anyone around…..ok…yes sir. Thanks," he said and hung up. "Well the police said if there isn't anyone on the premises, they aren't going to come over. I guess they have their hands full tonight. "

"Well, it _is _Devil's Night**,**" Emmett responded. "Remember what hellions we were as kids on this night?" He asked. "Hey, I didn't see anything out here, did either one of you?" He directed his question to Jasper and Edward. They both responded in the negative.

"The throw pillows from the couch are now on the floor," Bella spoke up. "I heard a weird sound from the living room and went to look in the doorway and they were tossed off the furniture."

Edward stood up and wrapped his arms around Bella. "Are you sure you ladies didn't knock anything onto the floor in your hurry to see what was going on?" He asked softly.

"I don't think we did, but I can't be sure about that. It seems as if the noise is gone, so let's go back in and watch the movie." They all headed back into the house. Alice stopped short as soon as she entered the kitchen, causing Jasper to run into her.

"Sorry baby," he said, "but you can't just stop in the doorway." He laughed.

"Were the candles on the dining room table lit earlier?" Alice asked she looked at her group of friends in confusion. A chorus of 'I didn't light them' and 'I don't know' returned to her. "Then _why_ are they lit now?" She asked.

"Are you sure you didn't light them before we got here, Bella?" Alice wanted to make sure she wasn't imagining things.

"Alice," Bella responded, "I am 100% sure that I didn't light them. I wanted it to be dark for the movie."  
>"Well, anyone want to explain how they're lit now, then?" Rose inquired.<p>

They all shook their heads. Emmett pushed his way into the house. "Everyone stay here, I'll go check this out." He said, grabbed the bat out of Rose's hand and disappeared into the main part of the house.  
>No one listened to Emmett. As soon as he crept forward, the rest of the group edged along as well. However when Emmett entered the dining room, they all stayed in the kitchen talking about what could be going on.<p>

"One of us _must_ have lit the candles before we went into the living room." Rose explained pacing the floor and wringing her hands. "The pillows on the couch easily could have fallen to the floor when we got up. And the bump outside could have been an animal. The woods are right there after all." It made sense to the rest of them.

"Come on in here, guys." Emmett yelled from the living room. "There isn't anything weird in here and has anyone else heard noises?" He asked.

"Not since we were all outside," Jasper responded. "So maybe Rose is right and we scared off a raccoon or something. Let's get back to the movie. I'll get this round of drinks, everyone sit." And Jasper strolled over to the kitchen counter to pour drinks.

Once Jasper handed out the beers and cocktails, everyone snuggled back in to watch more of the movie.  
>About 45 minutes later, as Regan's head was spinning around on her neck like a top, there was another 'bump' only this time it was much louder than the previous ones. Alice, Jasper, Rose and Bella all screamed.<p>

"What the fuck was that?" Edward yelled. "What is going on here tonight?" With no answers coming to him, he turned on Bella. "B, did you play with the Ouija board today? I know when we were kids you would use that thing all the time and swear you brought spirits forth."

"Edward, I haven't done that in a very long time. Especially after the girls and I visited that Fortune Teller and she warned me about it. I would never use that alone anymore. It's kind of creepy when you think about it," Bella said.

"Should we take a look around again?" Jasper asked. "I gotta admit it's getting odd around here."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Emmett asked. "One of us should stay with the girls."

"We're not helpless, baby." Rose nudged Emmet. "But some manliness in the room would help to keep us calm."

"Emmett, you come with me, Edward you can guard the girls." Jasper got up off the love-seat, grabbed the bat, and handed the flashlight to Emmett. "I'm sure it's an animal, anyway." They headed out the backdoor again.

"Seriously, Edward. Are you guys trying to play some kind of joke on us?" Bella poked him in the ribs as she asked.

"Yeah, Edward," Rose chimed in.

"Why would I do that?" He asked.

"I remember when we were juniors in high school**,** you and Emmett pulled this crap on us every time we had girls' night in," Bella retorted. "I would have thought you'd grown out of it. Especially as we all haven't been together as a group in awhile." She pouted.

"I don't know Bella," Alice said. "The look on Jasper**'**s face was definitely surprise. Besides, how would the candles had gotten lit unless it was _you_?" Alice was now suspicious of Bella. "You were the one in here when the pillows were put on the floor and the candles got lit. Why would you do that?" She was starting to get hysterical, but she didn't care what she sounded like; she was scared.

"But, I didn't do it Alice. I heard a weird scuffle type sound and the pillows were on the floor when I got here." Bella sounded as if she was going to cry. "I wouldn't do that to you guys and I can't believe you would think this about me." She cried out and ran out of the living room and up the stairs to her bedroom.

Edward looked at Rose and Alice. "Do you really think she would do this to you? You're her _best friends. _She talks all the time about how much she misses you and how happy we were all going to be together for the weekend. You both know deep down that she has nothing to do with this." He frowned at them and followed after Bella to comfort her.

"What do you think, Rose? "Alice asked. "It almost seems too convenient for it to not be her."

"Maybe, but Edward has a point," Rose replied.

"I still think she's in on this whole thing," Alice dragged the words out. "She begged us to all gather here for a creep show movie night. She was the _only _one that heard the noise in here too."

"I don't think she has anything to do with any of this," Rose said. "It's just not in her nature. Besides she gets freaked out too easily."

Edward and Bella returned to the living room at the same time that Jasper and Emmett came back inside.  
>"Anything out there?" Edward asked.<p>

Before either Jasper or Emmett had a chance to answer him, there were some distinct sounds from the second story of the house. Almost as if someone was walking between the bedrooms up there.

They all looked at each other and the guys ran up the stairs to check out the noises. The girls huddled under a blanket on the couch waiting for them to return. There weren't any more noises coming from up the stairs, but none of the girls felt safe at the moment.

"This is getting out of control," Bella said. "Maybe we should just move this to one of your houses. Do you think that would make us feel better?"

"We can't go to mine, mom and dad are having 'date' night tonight," Rose replied.

"We can go to my house," Alice suggested. "Let's pack up what we want to take." She got up from the couch, leaving Rose and Bella still huddled. They could hear the boys talking to each other upstairs but not what they were saying.

Emmett entered the living room with Edward and Jasper hot on his heels. "We didn't see anything out of the ordinary up there."

"We decided to move this to Alice's house," Bella announced. "Pick up what you want to bring and let's get out of here. I'll clean the rest up tomorrow. Edward can you please come upstairs with me so I can grab a few things?"

"This is no time for nookie, B**,**" Emmett laughed. "We're trying to get out of here alive." The rest of them laughed along at Emmett's joke. He had successfully cleared the air.

"Em, really thanks for the joke, but I'm a little too freaked out to go up there alone. If you're so concerned about whether or not Edward and I can keep our hands off each other long enough for me to pack, then you can come and Edward can stay here. It doesn't' matter to me." She smiled at him and grabbed his arm.

"While you are arguing over what to take, remember to pack the pizza and the alcohol, please," She tossed over her shoulder as she climbed the stairs with Emmett behind her.

Jasper and Edward immediately got into a debate over how many cars to take the three miles to Alice's parents' house. Rose finally intervened and insisted they take three vehicles so all three boys can drive.

"Can you believe this Alice? The house could be haunted and the boys wanna argue about cars?" Rose laughed.

"Right? Like staying alive is not as big a deal as who gets to drive us to safety?" Alice chuckled. They both burst into loud laughs over the situation. It was a great tension reliever.

"Edward, can you and Jasper please make sure the candles are out and the back door is locked?" Bella asked as she and Emmett came back down the stairs. "I don't want to leave anything lit or open when we leave."

"Sure baby, I can do that for you." Edward left the kitchen to double check that everything was closed. Bella moved into the kitchen to make sure all the liquor had been packed up. Right when she turned to ask Alice a question, the sound of footsteps echoed through the upstairs hall again, causing Bella to drop the bottle of vodka in her hand. Jasper and Emmett ran to check it out.

"Shit!" She yelled. "Nobody move there's glass on the floor. Rose- can you please get the mop out of the pantry?" She grabbed a towel to soak up the liquid, and the small dustpan for the glass shards.

"Let me help, B. Hand me the dustpan." Alice got on the floor with Bella to help clean the mess up. When the glass was picked up, Rose mopped the rest up.

"Its fine, B. No more mess," Rose said.

"I am on edge right now. What is going on? Do either of you have a clue?" Bella's hands shook as she dumped the dustpan into the trash can. "Rose, this isn't one of Emmett's pranks is it?"

"He stopped his pranks when he caused that car accident back in high school." Rose answered

"I thought so, but I feel as if I had to ask. I don't think it is any of us. Maybe we are letting the whole 'Fright Night' thing affect us?" Bella asked hopefully.

"Maybe**,**" Alice agreed. "So what now? Should we pack up everything and head out of here, or just put away the supernatural stuff and watch the movie with some lights on?"

Rose shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not sure at this point. Let's hash this whole thing out and see how we feel. Then we'll just tell the boys our decision." They sat at the kitchen table.

"First things first- Bella, where was the Ouija board?"

"Mom pulled it out of the attic. I haven't used it since we were seniors in high school. As far as I'm concerned, it can be donated or tossed."

"Let me grab it then." Alice retrieved it from the coffee table. "I'm going to put it on the front porch and it can be put in the donate bin by the garage."

"So item one is taken care of." Rose grabbed the notepad off the counter and wrote a few things down. "Next item to be taken care of is the Tarot cards."

"Alice left those here when we were 17."

"That's where they went?" Alice laughed. "I thought my parents tossed them. I haven't read in years and I am sure these aren't seasoned anymore. They can be donated or tossed too." Alice grabbed the cards from the dining room table and placed them on top of the Ouija board.

Rose crossed that off her list and looked at the other two girls. "We are down to candles and scary movie. Bella, I know your mom burns candles all the time when 'cleansing her aura' or whatever she calls it, so I am sure they are fine. Maybe we can just put them back in their normal spots?"

"Sure," Bella said as she got up. "Most of them were in the living room on the side tables and book case. She turned on the lights and placed the candles in their original places, came back to the table and sat down. "Now what?"

"Now we get the boys in here and decide whether to watch 'The Exorcist' or just some good old fashioned television with lights on." Rose replied. "EMMETT!" she yelled for the guys to join them.  
>Edward, Emmett and Jasper came and sat around the table with the girls.<p>

"You bellowed my dear." Emmett bowed to Rose as he took his seat. Rose leaned in and kissed his cheek.

"We figured a few things out, that's all." She took a deep breath and continued, "So, we have removed  
>the Ouija board and the tarot from the house. Bella also returned the candles to their original places. Now the question remains as to staying or going? I think we should stay and watch anything <em>but<em> scary movies." Rose looked around the table. "What do you think?"

"I'm all for staying here." Emmett replied.

"Me too," Parroted Jasper.

"If Jasper's ok, I'm ok," Alice agreed.

"Bella? It's up to you. It is after all, your house." Rose looked expectantly at Bella.

"Well, if everyone else is fine with being here, I can be as well. Besides I have Edward to sacrifice if it comes to that," she laughed.

"Thanks for that," Edward chuckled. "General consensus is we stay here, so let's do it."

They all got up from the table, leaving a path of lights in their path. Bella removed the movie from the DVD player, put it in the case and handed it back to Edward. "This can go on the porch with the other stuff, okay. I just don't want it in the house."

Bella handed the remote to Emmett. "With great power comes great responsibility" She quoted, and sat down with a blanket. Edward joined her on the couch just as Emmett was scrolling through channels.

"What we in the mood for? Sports? Reality? Random CSI episode?" Emmett asked the crowd.

"CSI!" Rose yelled, "Drop the remote Emmett." She poked him in the ribs until he placed the remote on the table next to them.

The six of them snuggled back in for their night together. There was a marathon of CSI episodes on and by hour three, Jasper was fidgeting.

"Anyone need anything? I'm grabbing a beer." As soon as he entered the kitchen, there was a screeching sound that echoed through the house. Bella immediately started rubbing her arms.

"That gave me goose bumps, whatever it was." She said. "This is beyond out of control. Was that wind through a window?" She asked but no one had an answer for her. "I'm out of here" She said and headed for the front door.

"Bella wait!" Alice shouted, "We all need to go with you. Emmett, turn off the TV please. Rose can you grab those pizza boxes? Edward, please calm her down until we can all leave at the same time. "

"You're being awfully rational right now, Alice." Bella seethed. "Maybe you were the one planning this the whole time. Thanks for blaming me, though." She stormed out of the living room and into the foyer. "Edward let's go to your house. I don't want to be around any of these people right now."

"But I didn't do anything," Alice cried. "Edward you have to believe me, I had nothing to do with any of this." She sobbed and ran to Jasper.

"For fucks sake. Let's all go home and meet tomorrow morning and hash this out," Rose yelled. She grabbed Emmett's hand and pulled him to the front door.

Emmett had just stepped onto the front porch when the wailing was heard again. This time he turned around and looked up at the second story of the house. "Jasper I know we didn't leave any lights on upstairs, so can you please explain to me why the light is on in Bella's parents' room?"

Jasper came into the foyer, "What are you talking about? We made sure nothing was on or open up there." A look of shock passed over his face. "Let's go**,** everyone _out." _ He pushed them all out the door.  
>Alice stood there rubbing her arms for warmth, Rose strolled off the front porch to try and see the second story of the house better, Jasper pulled Alice in for a hug and steered her off the porch as well. Edward and Bella moved to the side and looked at each other.<p>

"Let's all meet on the front lawn and look up," he said, and pulled Bella off the porch too.

All six of them craned their heads in order to see Bella's parents' window. Sure enough there was a dim light coming through the curtains.

"This is crazy," Bella stated. "I don't believe in ghosts or anything like this. Someone is fucking with us, hard." She turned to look at the group. "Who have any of you pissed off?"They all shrugged.

"Better yet, who knew we were going to be here tonight?" She asked. She turned to ask Rose a question when she heard the sound of laughing from the other side of the house. "Shhh… did you hear that?" She nodded her head towards where the laughing was coming from.

They started to tiptoe towards the side of the house, when the laughing was suddenly muffled. Edward raised his eyebrows in question to the rest of them. They nodded and stopped moving, straining to hear any other telltale noise.

Emmett grabbed Jasper's arm and pointed him and Alice to the opposite side from where they were currently standing. "Be very quiet and try to be sneaky, stay low and right up against the side of the house." Then he pointed at Edward and sent him and Bella to the front of the house. "You go through the house and to the back, whatever is going on I have a feeling the answers are back there." He whispered. "Rose and I will go this way and hopefully we can surround whoever is doing this."

Jasper led Alice around the right side of the house keeping her close to him. When they reached the corner between the side and back, they stopped and waited for the others to catch up. Emmett and Rose did the same thing on the left side of the house. Emmett waved at Jasper to let him know they were there. Now all they needed was Bella and Edward to open the back door.

They were lucky they had the element of surprise on their side because as soon as Edward opened the back door, someone screamed. It was a female voice but it didn't belong to any of the women currently at the house.

"Who's there?" Emmett yelled as he advanced towards the back of the house. Jasper came around from their side and Edward and Bella advanced from the back porch. They all heard someone running, so Emmett gave chase.

Next things heard were a 'thump', three voices talking and two laughing like hyenas. Emmett emerged from the shadows near the garage with two people next to him. All three of them strolled over and Bella reached in the door to turn on the backyard lights.

"MOM! DAD! What the hell are you doing?" She yelled as everyone else gasped.

Bella's mom, Renee burst into laughter as her dad, Charlie explained. "You guys have spent years doing this to each other. We couldn't help ourselves," he said as he burst into giggles.

"You're giggling? Right now? Are you people fucking insane?" Bella shrieked. Edward laid a calming hand on her shoulder.

"Let's hear them out B," he said. Bella looked at them, and motioned for them to continue.

"It wasn't even our idea," Renee replied.

"Who's was it, then Renee?" Edward asked.

"It was all your mom and dad's idea, Edward. They helped up create the noises and everything." Renee choked out around her laughter.

"Where are they?" Edward seethed. Charlie and Renee were laughing too hard to speak, but Charlie was able to point to the garage. Jasper strode over to the door, but Edwards's parents, Carlisle and Esme came streaming out giggling like school kids.

"We're sorry," Carlisle started, but Esme interrupted him.

"No we're not," she adamantly denied. "We've spent too many years listening to the girls screech and you guys plan your next devious plot. We only wanted to share with you what we went though all those years ago."

"Besides," Carlisle interjected, "It was _hilarious_!" and they all burst into laughter again. Charlie was laughing so hard, Renee had to help him stand.

Bella and Edward looked at each other and shrugged. "Seems the 'crazy' didn't fall too far from the tree, huh babe?" He asked her.

"Guess not," she replied. "Let's go in and finish this damn movie. You guys in?" She asked.

"Hell yea, we are." Emmett retorted. They all stumbled back into the house to finish the movie.  
>"Are you guys coming?" Bella asked their parents.<p>

"Our work here is done," Renee replied. "Carlisle, Esme feel like getting a drink at the bar?" She asked and they hoped in a car and left the kids to their own devices. Bella and Edward waved as their parents' pulled out of the driveway.

After the movie ended, they all set up camp in the living room as the original intention was to spend the night. Bella handed everyone a sleeping bag as Edward started moving furniture around.

"What I don't get is how did we not see them anywhere in the house?" Alice inquired.

"Or hear them moving around," Rose added.

"Good question." Emmett got up to check upstairs again. He was back down pretty quickly. "They used one of those rope ladders to get in and out of their bedroom window."

Bella started laughing and they all joined in. "What a night," he sighed. "But I'm glad that no matter what happened tonight that we all had a chance to hang out together. It has been far too long, and none of us live that far from any of the others."

"I say we initiate at least one dinner night a month," Rose said, and they all agreed. "Besides, soon it'll be our own families in the way, and not our parents."

Edward turned off the lights in the living room as they all snuggled in for sleep. Just as sleep was ready to take him, he thought he heard footsteps in the upstairs hall again. He shrugged it off since he had seen the adults drive off.

His eyes opened wide when he heard them coming down the stairs. But that would have been impossible wouldn't it?

The End?


End file.
